.

HomePort

Dill@HomePort

Search HomePort

.

Most Dill family descendants in Hants County, Nova Scotia trace their ancestry to three brothers from Northern Ireland, who had arrived in Nova Scotia prior to 1773. David (b. 1735), John and Mungo along with their Smith neighbours were among the first British settlers in Ste. Croix, first leasing and eventually purchasing lands that had been granted to Colonel Joseph Scott. Jane Walker married David Dill and had nine children, and her sister Elizabeth Walker married David's brother John Dill. The early history of the Dill family is well told through the website of Bob Dill. More recent DNA research is confirming connections between other Dill branches.

One of the best known family member in Nova Scotia was Howard Dill of Windsor, Hants County who developed the variety known as the Dill Atlantic Giant pumpkin, which has been the genetic basis of competitive gardening internationally. With a 493.5 pound specimen in 1981 he won the world record, and achieved four consecutive World Championships. Howard Dill distributed the seed line worldwide and the family continues his operations through HowardDill.com. The story of Howard Dill as told in The Pumpkin King which documents his life and how he developed an interest in competitive vegetable growing. Dill's farm on College Road has also become the centre of much interest historically with the discovery that ice hockey was first played as an organized game about 1800 on Long Pond on the Dill farm. The game played by students of King's College and recorded in 1836, was an adaptation of the Irish field game - hurley - transposed to ice. It became ice hurley and eventually ice hockey. Historians were previously unaware of this early record in Nova Scotia, thus the Long Pond documentation has added to sport history as one of the historic locations where the sport evolved. The Windsor Hockey Heritage Society is working to preserve the Birthplace of Ice Hockey.

J.E. Woolford, "View near Windsor, the Grove (Maugher's?)", c. 1817, watercolour, NSM History Collection 78.45.46